


Ever Esteemed

by carolinecrane



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-06
Updated: 2012-05-06
Packaged: 2017-11-04 22:47:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/399039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's days like these he wishes he'd stayed in the lab.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ever Esteemed

He knows the water. He grew up on the water – well, near it, anyway – and he's seen what it can do. He's ridden the perfect wave and sat on the shore, staring bleakly at the glassy surface when the surf refuses to cooperate. He's seen it destroy, too, seen the undertow grab some unsuspecting tourist who swims out too far and swallow them long before a lifeguard could ever reach them. 

He's known the ocean all his life, knows how powerful it is and he respects that. But it still surprises him that something as small as a hot tub could do something like this – swallow someone whole and deform them so grotesquely that not even their own family could recognize them.

The smell's never coming off, he's sure of it now. He can't even count the number of times he's scrubbed his hands, and it's days like this one he wishes he'd just stayed in the lab, processing evidence and being happy with the fact that he didn't have to go out in the field and deal with all the death he's actually starting to get used to. Only there's no way he could ever get used to this – no one could, not unless there was something seriously wrong with them. 

He hears a tapping on the open bathroom door and glances in the mirror long enough to catch a glimpse of Nick. "Hey," Nick says, taking a few steps into the room as Greg turns his attention back to his hands and the almost-scalding tap water. "Are you trying to take all your skin off?"

"If that's what it takes to get rid of the smell, yeah."

"I've seen worse," Nick says, and Greg knows what he means – he means he's _smelled_ worse, like that time he and Sara found a liquefied corpse in a duffel bag. And Greg has to admit that that was probably worse, but it wasn't him who found that corpse, so it doesn't count.

"Yeah, well, I haven't," he answers, glancing up again to send a scowl in Nick's direction.

"Take off your clothes."

Greg rolls his eyes, but he finally shuts the water off and turns to look at Nick. His fingers ache from the hot water and he thinks he might actually have done some damage, but he can still smell it embedded in his skin, probably way down in his cells and it's never going to go away. "I already took a shower at the lab. I tried lemon juice too, and all it did was make my fingers burn."

"Would you just trust me for once in your life?" Nick says, rolling his eyes but he's grinning, and Greg wants to be mad that Nick's laughing at him. He can't, though, because then Nick might not help, and he can't just _live_ like this. 

So he strips out of his jeans while Nick wanders off in the direction of the kitchen, kicks off his shoes and socks and then tugs his t-shirt over his head. His boxers are last, kicked to one side before he turns the shower on and climbs in. And the water feels good against his skin, but he can still smell it and he just knows whatever Nick wants to do to him isn't going to help at all.

Minutes tick by, time stretching out as he stands under the hot spray, and he's starting to think that this is all some weird joke when finally he hears Nick on the other side of the shower curtain. A few seconds later he climbs into the tub with Greg, stripped down to nothing and it takes Greg a second to realize he's holding a bottle of tomato juice in one hand. He didn't even know they _had_ tomato juice, but the smell's getting worse as his skin heats up and he's willing to try anything at this point.

"Come here," Nick says, pulling him close and barely swallowing a grimace at the smell. He turns Greg away from him, standing between the water and Greg's skin as he pops the top off the bottle and pours some on Greg's hair. 

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"The acid breaks down the fats that hold in the smell," Nick answers, fingers working the thick liquid through Greg's hair. "You're the chem major, shouldn't you know this stuff?"

"I must have slept through the 'cures for rancid odors' lecture." 

Nick laughs softly behind him, and Greg knows if he didn't smell like death – literally – that he'd be getting kissed right now. First on his neck, then across his shoulders to that spot Nick seems to like so much, down his back and if he was really lucky, Nick's tongue pushing inside him until he couldn't breathe. Only he does smell like death, and Nick's chest is conspicuously not pressed against his back. 

He swallows a sigh and tries to enjoy the hands massaging his scalp, ignoring the combined scents of tomato and death and closing his eyes as Nick tilts his head back just a little more. And he knows he should be grateful, because Nick really must be crazy about him if he's willing to stand this close to Greg long enough to do this, but that doesn't make it any easier to stand still while Nick's hands are moving on his skin.

Down his neck now, thumbs massaging his skin as Nick pours tomato juice on his shoulders. He's never been a big fan anyway, but now he's going to associate the smell of tomatoes with this for the rest of his life, and he can't decide if that's a good thing or not. On the one hand, there's touching, and that's never a bad thing, but the smell's still clinging to his skin and he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life thinking about drowning every time he sees a tomato.

"You should've gone out with me and Sara," Nick says, voice buzzing close to his ear and Greg has to work hard not to lean into it. "Our body was frozen."

"I thought we were keeping our distance at work."

He feels Nick shrug behind him, hands squeezing Greg's shoulders a little. "Training's training, right? Doesn't really matter who you train with."

And this is new, but when Greg starts to turn to gauge Nick's expression the hands on his shoulders tighten, holding him in place. "I'm not done yet."

Greg sighs but gives in, letting his eyes fall closed again as Nick smears more tomato juice on his back. "So we're not keeping our distance at work anymore?"

"If it keeps you from coming home smelling like this, I guess not."

He thinks about reminding Nick that he couldn't really have avoided it, that Catherine and probably even Doc are at home right now scrubbing the stench out of their own skin, but he knows Nick already knows it. It's all part of the learning process, as Grissom was so quick to point out when he complained. Instead he leans a little harder into Nick's hands, tomato juice coating his skin as Nick works his way down Greg's back. 

Nick stops when he reaches the small of his back, hands sliding down his hips to maneuver him under the water. Greg lets Nick guide him, swallowing another sigh as the shower washes away the tomato juice coating his back.

"See?" Nick murmurs, and this time he does lean in to press a soft kiss to the top of Greg's spine. "Better already."

And it is a little better, but he can still smell the body and he's starting to wonder if the memory's going to be enough to make him imagine the smell for the next few days. Before he can ask Nick's turning him again until they're face to face, and when Greg opens his eyes he finds Nick grinning at him. 

"You're not falling asleep on me, are you?"

"Believe me, drowning is the last way I want to go."

Nick smiles again and reaches for the tomato juice, coating Greg's chest and up his neck before he starts on Greg's arms. He works his way down the right one first, taking his time working the thick red liquid into Greg's fingers when he reaches his hands. When he finishes the first one he switches arms, starting with Greg's left hand this time and working his way up.

"You know," Greg says when Nick finally releases his arm, "I could have done this myself."

Nick hums something low in his throat and reaches for the tomato juice again, pouring some on Greg's chest and letting it run down his stomach. "You could have," he says, fingers chasing the line of red until he reaches Greg's cock, fingers circling Greg's length and stroking a few times, "but it looks like you're having a pretty good time doing it my way."

"You know how I like to please," Greg answers, hips thrusting slightly into Nick's grip. He lets out a disappointed groan when Nick lets go again, hands sliding back up his chest to grip his shoulders and move him back under the water. "Tease."

"Impatient," Nick shoots back, grinning when Greg scowls at him. "Shut up and let me wash this stuff off."

Rinsing involves more touching, at least, so Greg doesn't complain when Nick's hands slide across his skin, rinsing sticky tomato juice off his arms and chest. He lets Nick rinse his hair next, and by the time he's done Greg's actually starting to smell human again. "Better?"

Arms around his waist, hands moving restlessly on his skin and Nick's chest finally – finally – pressed against his back, and this is definitely better. The best, even, but he stops himself from saying that part out loud. Instead he leans back into the solid body behind him, shifting until Nick's cock is pressed against his ass. "Now it is."

Nick laughs against his ear, low and warm as his hand slides down Greg's stomach to grip his cock for the second time. And this really is better, because Nick's moving against him now and when Greg thrusts back into him the arm around his waist tightens even more. Nick's hot against his skin and his hand's moving steadily on Greg's cock, slow enough to tease but before long it's too slow, and Greg thrusts harder into Nick's grip until he takes the hint and speeds up.

Even that's not enough, though, so Greg pulls away and braces his hands against the shower wall, fingers pressed against slick tile and he hears the sharp intake of breath behind him a moment before Nick's fingers press inside. It's not what he wants, but he'll take it, and he pushes back hard against Nick's fingers, letting out a fractured moan with each tiny thrust.

He's panting and he doesn't even care, babbling something that he can't make out, but evidently Nick understands because his fingers disappear. A second later he's pressed against Greg, one hand on his hip to hold him still and the other gripping his cock to guide him inside. He stops when he's halfway in, free hand on the wall to slide his fingers through Greg's. It feels like forever before he moves again, but just when Greg thinks he can't stand it another second Nick's moving, pulling out only to thrust back in.

Greg gasps when Nick hits that spot inside him, igniting sparks behind his eyes. He clenches hard around the other man, fingers clutching uselessly at the tile under his hands. When he finally relaxes Nick does it again, hand leaving Greg's hip to close around his cock again and he knows he won't last much longer. He rocks between Nick's cock and his fist, chest heaving with the effort to breath and warm water pelting his skin in a steady rhythm. 

It's hard to believe now that this started out as a tomato juice bath – the thought makes him laugh, breathless and choked as Nick angles his hips to thrust a little deeper. His grip on Greg's cock tightens at the same time, wrist twisting just enough to surprise Greg's orgasm out of him. He tenses around Nick, muscles clamping down hard and dragging a groan out of Nick. 

He's not sure how long they stay like that – seconds, or possibly hours – but when the last shudder subsides Nick starts moving again, gripping Greg's hips with both hands and thrusting hard until he finally lets go with a low moan. Greg's forehead is pressed against the shower wall, the water starting to turn cold on his skin as Nick's mouth moves restlessly on his neck, feathering frantic kisses along his shoulders.

He waits until Nick catches his breath before he tries to move, legs shaking a little as Nick pulls out of him and lets him turn to press his back against the shower wall. And it's cold now that the hot water's gone, but when Nick presses against him Greg barely notices the cold. He slides his arms around Nick's neck, pulling him forward for a soft kiss. 

"Thanks," he says when Nick pulls back to look at him, one hand coming up to push Greg's hair away from his forehead. "I can't believe that stuff worked."

Nick matches Greg's breathless grin with one of his own, leaning in for another kiss before he pulls away to turn the water off. "Of course it worked. Didn't I tell you you could trust me?"


End file.
